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{{conjecture}}
 
{{conjecture}}
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{{Pottermoreold}}
[[File:VoldemortmurdersLily.JPG|right|thumb|250px|[[Lily Evans|Lily Potter]] is murdered by [[Tom Riddle|Lord Voldemort]] while standing in his way to [[Harry Potter|Harry]].]]{{Quote|Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is [[love]]. He didn't realise that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign ... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.|Dumbledore on sacrificial protection|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone}}
 
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{{Spell infobox
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|name=Sacrificial Protection
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|image=[[File:Lily_murder.gif|250px]]
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|incantation=None
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|type=[[Counter-charm]]
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|hand=Deliberately shield target with body from intended curse
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|light=None<ref name="OOTP"/>
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|effect=Powerful and long-lasting counter-charm
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|creator=
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}}
   
 
{{Quote|Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is [[love]]. He didn't realise that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.|[[Dumbledore]] regarding the power of love|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone}}
'''Sacrificial protection''' is an ancient, powerful and long-lasting [[counter-charm]]<ref>[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]</ref> that is endowed when one person ultimately sacrifices his or her own life willingly and out of deep and pure [[love]] to strongly save the life of one or more people.<ref name="poa17">''Philosopher's Stone'', Ch. 17</ref><ref name="gof33">''Goblet of Fire'', Ch. 33</ref><ref name="ootp37">''Order of the Phoenix'', Ch. 37</ref><ref name="dh36">''Deathly Hallows'', Ch. 36</ref>
 
   
 
'''Sacrificial protection''' is an ancient, powerful, and long-lasting [[counter-charm]]<ref>[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]</ref>. This charm unlike others has no incantation and is endowed when one person (who we will call "the victim" for purposes of this article) ultimately sacrifices his or her own life willingly and out of deep and pure [[love]] to save the life of one or more people (who this article will refer to as "beneficiaries").<ref name="poa17">''Philosopher's Stone'', Ch. 17</ref><ref name="gof33">''Goblet of Fire'', Ch. 33</ref><ref name="ootp37">''Order of the Phoenix'', Ch. 37</ref><ref name="dh36">''Deathly Hallows'', Ch. 36</ref>
==Requirements and effects==
 
{{Quote|But I knew too where Voldemort was weak. And so I made my decision. You would be protected by an ancient magic of which he knows, which he despises, and which he has always, therefore, underestimated to his cost. I am speaking, of course, of the fact that your mother died to save you. She gave you a lingering protection he never expected, a protection that flows in your veins to this day.|Dumbledore on the sacrificial protection|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix}}
 
   
  +
When the person to make the sacrifice dies, the counter-charm is so powerful that the murderer can not physically touch the intended victim, as the protection lives on in their veins. Also any spells casted on the beneficiaries wear off quickly.<ref>[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows|''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'']]</ref>
Sacrificial protection can be conferred on a single person or on a group of people.<ref name="dh36" /> In cases involving a single person, the protection prevents whoever murdered the person who sacrificed their life from physically touching the person saved without experiencing excruciating pain,<ref name="poa17" /><ref name="gof33" /> and will cause a [[Killing Curse]] cast at the saved person by the murderer to rebound.<ref name="gof33" /> In cases involving multiple people, the extent of the protection is not known, but it seems that it is less than in single-person cases, so that spells cast by the murderer at those under the protection will simply wear off more quickly rather than be reflected back (although it is unknown how that would apply to the Killing Curse). However, the difference in the level of protection could also be attributed to whether or not the person sacrificing him or herself actually dies since in the only known case in which sacrificial protection was conferred to a group of people, the intended victim survived.<ref name="dh36" />
 
   
 
== Requirements ==
[[File:HarryFacesDeath.jpg|left|thumb|250px|[[Harry Potter]] prepared to die by [[Tom Riddle|Voldemort]]'s hand in order to protect his friends and allies.]]
 
 
In order for the protection to form, the victim must be given the option to live, but consciously choose death.<ref name="leaky">[http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2005/0705-tlc_mugglenet-anelli-1.htm 2005 Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview]</ref> This is why [[James Potter I|James Potter's]] death did not confer magical protection on [[Lily Evans|Lily]] and [[Harry Potter|Harry]] in [[1981]]; [[Tom Riddle|Voldemort]] was set upon killing James and thus never gave him an opportunity to choose to save himself.<ref name="leaky" /> Lily, on the other hand, was offered the chance to step aside because Voldemort had promised [[Severus Snape]] that he would not kill her unless she got in his way.<ref name="dh33">''Deathly Hallows'', Ch. 33</ref> Her conscious refusal to comply with Voldemort's demand is why unusually strong magical protection was conferred upon her only son.<ref name="leaky" />
   
  +
=== Effects ===
{{Quote|It was love. You see, when dear, sweet [[Lily Evans|Lily Potter]] gave her life for her only son, she provided the ultimate protection. I could not touch him. It was old magic. Something I should have foreseen.|[[Tom Riddle|Voldemort]] on Lily Potter's sacrifice|Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)}}In order for the protection to form, the sacrificing person must be given the option to live, but consciously choose death.<ref name="leaky">[http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2005/0705-tlc_mugglenet-anelli-1.htm 2005 Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview]</ref> This is why [[James Potter I|James Potter's]] death did not confer magical protection on [[Lily Evans|Lily]] and [[Harry Potter|Harry]] in [[1981]]; [[Tom Riddle|Voldemort]] was set upon killing James and thus never gave him an opportunity to choose to save himself.<ref name="leaky" /> Lily, on the other hand, was offered the chance to step aside because Voldemort had promised [[Severus Snape]] that he would not kill her unless she got in his way.<ref name="dh33">''Deathly Hallows'', Ch. 33</ref> Her conscious refusal to comply with Voldemort's demand is why unusually strong magical protection was conferred upon her only son.<ref name="leaky" />
 
 
{{Quote|But I knew too where Voldemort was weak. And so I made my decision. You would be protected by an ancient magic of which he knows, which he despises, and which he has always, therefore, underestimated to his cost. I am speaking, of course, of the fact that your mother died to save you. She gave you a lingering protection he never expected, a protection that flows in your veins to this day.|Dumbledore regarding sacrificial protection|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix}}
   
 
[[File:Tumblr_lth8u7IhCZ1qa9jn1o7_r1_250.gif|frame|left|[[Harry Potter]] lets [[Tom Riddle|Voldemort]] hit him with the Killing Curse in order to protect his friends and allies|240x240px]]
Another defensive effect of sacrificial protection binds the saved person to life when his or her blood is transferred to another person (perhaps this only works when the saved person's blood is transferred to the murderer) as long as that person lives. If the blood is transferred to the murderer, then the murderer will be able to overcome some aspects of the protection. Evidence of this can be seen in the way that Voldemort was able to touch Harry and harm him with spells after his rebirth and resurrection.<ref>[http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/faq_view.cfm?id=122 F.A.Q. question] on J.K. Rowling's Official Site</ref>
 
  +
 
Sacrificial protection can be conferred on a single beneficiary or on a group of them.<ref name="dh36" /> In cases involving a single person, the protection prevents whoever murdered the person who sacrificed their life from physically touching the person saved without experiencing excruciating pain,<ref name="poa17" /><ref name="gof33" /> and will cause a [[Killing Curse]] cast at the saved person by the murderer to rebound.<ref name="gof33" /> In cases involving multiple beneficiaries, the extent of the protection is not known, but it seems that it is less than in single-beneficiary cases, so that spells cast by the murderer at those beneficiaries will simply wear off more quickly rather than be reflected back (although it is unknown how that would apply to the Killing Curse). However, the difference in the level of protection could also be attributed to whether or not the victim actually dies since in the only known case in which sacrificial protection was conferred to a group of people, the intended victim survived.<ref name="dh36" />
  +
 
Another defensive effect of sacrificial protection binds the beneficiary to life when his or her blood is transferred to another person (perhaps this only works when the beneficiary's blood is transferred to the murderer) as long as that person lives. If the blood is transferred to the murderer, then the murderer will be able to overcome some aspects of the protection. Evidence of this can be seen in the way that Voldemort was able to touch Harry and harm him with spells after his rebirth and resurrection.<ref>[http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/faq_view.cfm?id=122 F.A.Q. question] on J.K. Rowling's Official Site</ref>
   
 
==Bond of Blood==
 
==Bond of Blood==
{{Dialogue a-b-a-b-a|Dumbledore|I put my trust, therefore, in your mother's blood. I delivered you to her sister, her only remaining relative.|Harry|She doesn't love me. She doesn't give a damn —|But she took you. She may have taken you grudgingly, furiously, unwillingly, bitterly, yet still she took you, and in doing so, she sealed [[Bond of blood charm|the charm]] I placed upon you. Your mother's sacrifice made the bond of blood the strongest shield I could give you.|I still don't --|While you can still call home the place where your mother's blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort. He shed her blood, but it lives on in you and her sister. Her blood became your refuge. You need return there only once a year, but as long as you can still call it home, there he cannot hurt you. Your aunt knows this. I explained what I had done in the letter I left, with you, on her doorstep. She knows that allowing you houseroom may well have kept you alive for the past fifteen years.|[[Albus Dumbledore]] to [[Harry Potter]]|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix}}
+
{{Quote|She may have taken you grudgingly, furiously, unwillingly, bitterly, yet still she took you, and in doing so, she sealed [[Bond of blood charm|the charm]] I placed upon you. Your mother's sacrifice made the bond of blood the strongest shield I could give you.|Dumbledore explaining the Bond of Blood to [[Harry Potter]]|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix}}
   
[[File:BabyHarryLeftAtPrivetDrive.png|thumb|250px|[[Albus Dumbledore]] leaves infant [[Harry Potter]] and a note on the doorstep of [[4 Privet Drive]] so that the bond of blood [[charm]] he placed on Harry can be sealed.]]
+
[[File:BabyHarryLeftAtPrivetDrive.png|thumb|249x249px|[[Albus Dumbledore]] leaves infant Harry Potter and a note on the doorstep of [[4 Privet Drive]] so that the bond of blood [[charm]] he placed on Harry can be sealed]]
   
If the person who ultimately sacrificed their life was related to the person they saved, then a powerful [[charm]] can be cast upon the saved person to give them additional protection (although it is unknown how closely the two must be related for this charm to work). This charm prevents any harm from coming to the saved person from the murderer while they are in a blood-related relative's home.<ref name="ootp37" />
+
If the victim was related to the beneficiary, then a powerful [[charm]] can be cast upon the beneficiary to give them additional protection (although it is unknown how closely the two must be related for this charm to work). This charm prevents any harm from coming to the beneficiary from the murderer while they are in a blood-related relative's home.<ref name="OOTP">''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]'' - Chapter 37 (''The Lost Prophecy'')</ref>
   
However, in order for this charm's power to take effect, the living blood-relative must first take the saved person into their home.<ref name="ootp37" /> Once activated, this bond of blood will prevent harm from coming to the saved person when they are in their relative's home,<ref name="ootp37" /> but it will break automatically when the saved person moves out permanently or turns seventeen (the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_majority age of majority] in the British wizarding world), whichever happens first.<ref name="dh4">''Deathly Hallows, Ch. 4</ref><ref>[http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2005/0705-edinburgh-ITVcubreporters.htm#blood 2005 Edinburgh 'cub reporter' press conference]</ref>
+
However, in order for this charm's power to take effect, the living blood-relative must first take the saved person into their home willingly.<ref name="ootp37" /> Once activated, this bond of blood will prevent harm from coming to the beneficiary when they are in their relative's home<ref name="ootp37" /> but it will break automatically when the saved person moves out permanently or turns seventeen (the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_majority age of majority] in the British wizarding world), whichever happens first.<ref name="dh4">''Deathly Hallows, Ch. 4''</ref><ref>[http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2005/0705-edinburgh-ITVcubreporters.htm#blood 2005 Edinburgh 'cub reporter' press conference]</ref>
   
 
==Known occurrences==
 
==Known occurrences==
  +
{{Dialogue a-b-a|Harry|I was ready to die to stop you from hurting these people —|Voldemort|But you did not!|— I meant to, and that's what did it. I've done what my mother did. They're protected from you. Haven't you noticed how none of the spells you put on them ''aren't'' binding? You can't torture them. You can't touch them.|Harry and Voldemort's [[Voldemort's Last Stand|final duel]]|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows}}
*On the night of [[31 October]], [[1981]], [[Lily Evans|Lily Potter]] sacrificed her life in order to protect her infant son, [[Harry Potter|Harry]], from [[Tom Riddle|Lord Voldemort]]. This placed Harry under magical protection, so that when Voldemort cast the [[Killing Curse]] at Harry in turn, the spell backfired, leaving [[Harry Potter|Harry]] unharmed (save for a [[Harry Potter's scars#The lightning-bolt scar|scar]] on his forehead) and Voldemort bodiless. Harry became the only known person to survive the Killing Curse because of the power of his mother's loving sacrifice. However, foreseeing Voldemort's inevitable return, [[Albus Dumbledore]] furthered Harry's protection by casting the above-mentioned [[charm]] on him and leaving him in the care of his only living relative, [[Petunia Dursley]], Lily's older sister.<ref name="ootp37" />
 
  +
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
*On [[2 May]], [[1998]], during the [[Battle of Hogwarts]], Harry Potter willingly allowed himself to be hit with a Killing Curse cast by Lord Voldemort so that the [[Horcrux|piece of Voldemort's soul]] residing inside him would be destroyed and the [[Dark Wizard]] could be defeated once and for all. This conferred a certain amount of protection on Harry's allies, making it so that spells Voldemort tried to place on them, including [[Silencing Charm]]s and a [[Full Body-Bind Curse]], quickly wore off.<ref name="dh36" />
 
  +
|-
 
  +
! align="left" width="17%" |Person sacrificed
  +
! align="left" width="17%" |Person(s) protected
  +
! align="left" width="17%" |Date
  +
! align="left" width="50%" |Notes
  +
|-
  +
|[[Lily Evans|Lily Potter]]
  +
|[[Harry Potter]]
  +
|[[31 October]], [[1981]]
 
|[[Lily Evans|Lily Potter]] sacrificed her life in order to protect her infant son, [[Harry Potter|Harry]] from [[Tom Riddle|Lord Voldemort]]. This placed Harry under magical protection, so that when Voldemort cast the [[Killing Curse]] at Harry in turn, the spell backfired, leaving [[Harry Potter|Harry]] unharmed (save for a [[Harry Potter's scars#The lightning-bolt scar|scar on his forehead]]) and Voldemort bodiless. Harry became the only known person to survive the Killing Curse because of the power of his mother's loving sacrifice. However, foreseeing Voldemort's inevitable return, [[Albus Dumbledore]] furthered Harry's protection by casting the above-mentioned [[charm]] on him and leaving him in the care of his only living relative, [[Petunia Dursley]] (Lily's older sister).<ref name="ootp37" />
  +
|-
  +
|Harry Potter
  +
|Defenders of Hogwarts
  +
|[[2 May]], [[1998]]
 
|During the [[Battle of Hogwarts]], Harry Potter willingly allowed himself to be hit with a Killing Curse cast by Lord Voldemort so that the [[Horcrux|piece of Voldemort's soul]] residing inside him would be destroyed and the [[Dark Wizard]] could be defeated once and for all. This conferred a certain amount of protection on Harry's allies, making it so that spells Voldemort tried to place on them, including [[Silencing Charm|Silencing Charms ]]and a [[Full Body-Bind Curse]], quickly wore off.<ref name="dh36" />
  +
|}
 
==Behind the scenes==
 
==Behind the scenes==
 
*It would seem that the protection can take effect even if the opportunity for self-preservation is presented only by circumstance. In 1998, during the [[Battle of Hogwarts]], Voldemort gave Harry one hour to surrender himself, vowing to hunt him down if he did not show up in that time.<ref name="dh33" /> Nonetheless, although Voldemort was determined to kill Harry, Harry's sacrificial protection worked to save his friends, presumably because he willingly gave himself up despite having enough time to try to run away, whereas James Potter was only given a minute's notice of Voldemort's arrival. Also he arrived to face Voldemort just after the required hour and by that time Voldemort thought he wasn't coming.
 
*It would seem that the protection can take effect even if the opportunity for self-preservation is presented only by circumstance. In 1998, during the [[Battle of Hogwarts]], Voldemort gave Harry one hour to surrender himself, vowing to hunt him down if he did not show up in that time.<ref name="dh33" /> Nonetheless, although Voldemort was determined to kill Harry, Harry's sacrificial protection worked to save his friends, presumably because he willingly gave himself up despite having enough time to try to run away, whereas James Potter was only given a minute's notice of Voldemort's arrival. Also he arrived to face Voldemort just after the required hour and by that time Voldemort thought he wasn't coming.
*It is unknown if anyone employed by the offending witch or wizard can harm anyone protected by the sacrifice. This is seemingly evidenced during the Battle of Hogwarts, where it is believed that Harry protected his friends from Voldemort, after which, not even any [[Death Eaters]], much less Voldemort himself, were able to do any damage to the Hogwarts army.
+
*It is unknown if anyone employed by the murderer can harm a beneficiary. This is seemingly evidenced during the Battle of Hogwarts, where it is believed that Harry protected his friends from Voldemort, after which, not even any [[Death Eaters]], much less Voldemort himself, were able to do any damage to the Hogwarts army.
*Because of Harry's sacrificial protection, the spells that Voldemort and his [[Death Eaters]] cast did not work properly. Voldemort's [[Silencing Charm]] did not keep the Hogwarts residents quiet for long, and [[Neville Longbottom]] was able to break the [[Full Body-Bind Curse]] Voldemort cast on him. Yet also in the final film, Voldemort casts the [[Stunning Spell]] on Neville out of anger after seeing Harry alive. This spell did not hold, either, as Neville woke up soon after. Furthermore, neither Voldemort or the Death Eaters were able to do any damage to the Hogwarts students, [[Professor]]s, [[Hogsmeade]] villagers, [[Order of the Phoenix]] or other participants.
+
*Because of Harry's sacrificial protection, the spells that Voldemort and his [[Death Eaters]] cast did not work properly. Voldemort's [[Silencing Charm]] did not keep the Hogwarts residents quiet for long, and [[Neville Longbottom]] was able to break the [[Full Body-Bind Curse]] Voldemort cast on him. Yet also in the final film, Voldemort casts the [[Stunning Spell]] on Neville out of anger after seeing Harry alive. This spell did not hold, either, as Neville woke up soon after. Furthermore, neither Voldemort or the Death Eaters were able to do any damage to the Hogwarts students, [[Professor]]s, [[Hogsmeade]] villagers, [[Order of the Phoenix]] or other participants. Interestingly, Harry is also seen in the films as being able to deflect Killing-Curses with a [[Shield Charm|Shield-Charm]], although this may be to do with the allegiance of the [[Elder Wand]] rather than the sacrificial protection. This is the sole place in the final film where the blocking of a Killing-Curse can be considered to be theoretically possible, as other blocks (such as by Bellatrix) exist to elongate duels and increase drama.
 
*It is seen during the Battle of Hogwarts that the spell only protects living people, as the [[Dark Wizard]]s were still able to destroy areas of [[Hogwarts]].
 
*It is seen during the Battle of Hogwarts that the spell only protects living people, as the [[Dark Wizard]]s were still able to destroy areas of [[Hogwarts]].
  +
*Lord Voldemort's inability to understand the power of love made him severely underestimate and misunderstand the power of this protection. He believed that by taking Harry's blood for his regeneration, he would be able to bypass the shielding, and thought being able to touch Harry was evidence of such; contrarily, this strengthened the protection by preventing Voldemort from killing Harry.
   
 
==Appearances==
 
==Appearances==
Line 50: Line 81:
 
==Notes and references==
 
==Notes and references==
 
{{Reflist}}
 
{{Reflist}}
  +
  +
[[ru:Обряд жертвы]]
 
[[Category:Love Magic]]
 
[[Category:Love Magic]]
 
[[Category:Laws of Magic]]
 
[[Category:Laws of Magic]]

Revision as of 00:51, 9 February 2016

"Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realise that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever."
Dumbledore regarding the power of love[src]

Sacrificial protection is an ancient, powerful, and long-lasting counter-charm[2]. This charm unlike others has no incantation and is endowed when one person (who we will call "the victim" for purposes of this article) ultimately sacrifices his or her own life willingly and out of deep and pure love to save the life of one or more people (who this article will refer to as "beneficiaries").[3][4][5][6]

When the person to make the sacrifice dies, the counter-charm is so powerful that the murderer can not physically touch the intended victim, as the protection lives on in their veins. Also any spells casted on the beneficiaries wear off quickly.[7]

Requirements

In order for the protection to form, the victim must be given the option to live, but consciously choose death.[8] This is why James Potter's death did not confer magical protection on Lily and Harry in 1981; Voldemort was set upon killing James and thus never gave him an opportunity to choose to save himself.[8] Lily, on the other hand, was offered the chance to step aside because Voldemort had promised Severus Snape that he would not kill her unless she got in his way.[9] Her conscious refusal to comply with Voldemort's demand is why unusually strong magical protection was conferred upon her only son.[8]

Effects

"But I knew too where Voldemort was weak. And so I made my decision. You would be protected by an ancient magic of which he knows, which he despises, and which he has always, therefore, underestimated — to his cost. I am speaking, of course, of the fact that your mother died to save you. She gave you a lingering protection he never expected, a protection that flows in your veins to this day."
— Dumbledore regarding sacrificial protection[src]
Tumblr lth8u7IhCZ1qa9jn1o7 r1 250

Harry Potter lets Voldemort hit him with the Killing Curse in order to protect his friends and allies

Sacrificial protection can be conferred on a single beneficiary or on a group of them.[6] In cases involving a single person, the protection prevents whoever murdered the person who sacrificed their life from physically touching the person saved without experiencing excruciating pain,[3][4] and will cause a Killing Curse cast at the saved person by the murderer to rebound.[4] In cases involving multiple beneficiaries, the extent of the protection is not known, but it seems that it is less than in single-beneficiary cases, so that spells cast by the murderer at those beneficiaries will simply wear off more quickly rather than be reflected back (although it is unknown how that would apply to the Killing Curse). However, the difference in the level of protection could also be attributed to whether or not the victim actually dies since in the only known case in which sacrificial protection was conferred to a group of people, the intended victim survived.[6]

Another defensive effect of sacrificial protection binds the beneficiary to life when his or her blood is transferred to another person (perhaps this only works when the beneficiary's blood is transferred to the murderer) as long as that person lives. If the blood is transferred to the murderer, then the murderer will be able to overcome some aspects of the protection. Evidence of this can be seen in the way that Voldemort was able to touch Harry and harm him with spells after his rebirth and resurrection.[10]

Bond of Blood

"She may have taken you grudgingly, furiously, unwillingly, bitterly, yet still she took you, and in doing so, she sealed the charm I placed upon you. Your mother's sacrifice made the bond of blood the strongest shield I could give you."
— Dumbledore explaining the Bond of Blood to Harry Potter[src]
BabyHarryLeftAtPrivetDrive

Albus Dumbledore leaves infant Harry Potter and a note on the doorstep of 4 Privet Drive so that the bond of blood charm he placed on Harry can be sealed

If the victim was related to the beneficiary, then a powerful charm can be cast upon the beneficiary to give them additional protection (although it is unknown how closely the two must be related for this charm to work). This charm prevents any harm from coming to the beneficiary from the murderer while they are in a blood-related relative's home.[1]

However, in order for this charm's power to take effect, the living blood-relative must first take the saved person into their home willingly.[5] Once activated, this bond of blood will prevent harm from coming to the beneficiary when they are in their relative's home[5] but it will break automatically when the saved person moves out permanently or turns seventeen (the age of majority in the British wizarding world), whichever happens first.[11][12]

Known occurrences

Harry: "I was ready to die to stop you from hurting these people —"
Voldemort: "But you did not!"
Harry: "— I meant to, and that's what did it. I've done what my mother did. They're protected from you. Haven't you noticed how none of the spells you put on them aren't binding? You can't torture them. You can't touch them."
— Harry and Voldemort's final duel[src]
Person sacrificed Person(s) protected Date Notes
Lily Potter Harry Potter 31 October, 1981 Lily Potter sacrificed her life in order to protect her infant son, Harry from Lord Voldemort. This placed Harry under magical protection, so that when Voldemort cast the Killing Curse at Harry in turn, the spell backfired, leaving Harry unharmed (save for a scar on his forehead) and Voldemort bodiless. Harry became the only known person to survive the Killing Curse because of the power of his mother's loving sacrifice. However, foreseeing Voldemort's inevitable return, Albus Dumbledore furthered Harry's protection by casting the above-mentioned charm on him and leaving him in the care of his only living relative, Petunia Dursley (Lily's older sister).[5]
Harry Potter Defenders of Hogwarts 2 May, 1998 During the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry Potter willingly allowed himself to be hit with a Killing Curse cast by Lord Voldemort so that the piece of Voldemort's soul residing inside him would be destroyed and the Dark Wizard could be defeated once and for all. This conferred a certain amount of protection on Harry's allies, making it so that spells Voldemort tried to place on them, including Silencing Charms and a Full Body-Bind Curse, quickly wore off.[6]

Behind the scenes

  • It would seem that the protection can take effect even if the opportunity for self-preservation is presented only by circumstance. In 1998, during the Battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort gave Harry one hour to surrender himself, vowing to hunt him down if he did not show up in that time.[9] Nonetheless, although Voldemort was determined to kill Harry, Harry's sacrificial protection worked to save his friends, presumably because he willingly gave himself up despite having enough time to try to run away, whereas James Potter was only given a minute's notice of Voldemort's arrival. Also he arrived to face Voldemort just after the required hour and by that time Voldemort thought he wasn't coming.
  • It is unknown if anyone employed by the murderer can harm a beneficiary. This is seemingly evidenced during the Battle of Hogwarts, where it is believed that Harry protected his friends from Voldemort, after which, not even any Death Eaters, much less Voldemort himself, were able to do any damage to the Hogwarts army.
  • Because of Harry's sacrificial protection, the spells that Voldemort and his Death Eaters cast did not work properly. Voldemort's Silencing Charm did not keep the Hogwarts residents quiet for long, and Neville Longbottom was able to break the Full Body-Bind Curse Voldemort cast on him. Yet also in the final film, Voldemort casts the Stunning Spell on Neville out of anger after seeing Harry alive. This spell did not hold, either, as Neville woke up soon after. Furthermore, neither Voldemort or the Death Eaters were able to do any damage to the Hogwarts students, Professors, Hogsmeade villagers, Order of the Phoenix or other participants. Interestingly, Harry is also seen in the films as being able to deflect Killing-Curses with a Shield-Charm, although this may be to do with the allegiance of the Elder Wand rather than the sacrificial protection. This is the sole place in the final film where the blocking of a Killing-Curse can be considered to be theoretically possible, as other blocks (such as by Bellatrix) exist to elongate duels and increase drama.
  • It is seen during the Battle of Hogwarts that the spell only protects living people, as the Dark Wizards were still able to destroy areas of Hogwarts.
  • Lord Voldemort's inability to understand the power of love made him severely underestimate and misunderstand the power of this protection. He believed that by taking Harry's blood for his regeneration, he would be able to bypass the shielding, and thought being able to touch Harry was evidence of such; contrarily, this strengthened the protection by preventing Voldemort from killing Harry.

Appearances

Notes and references

  1. 1.0 1.1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Chapter 37 (The Lost Prophecy)
  2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
  3. 3.0 3.1 Philosopher's Stone, Ch. 17
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Goblet of Fire, Ch. 33
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Order of the Phoenix, Ch. 37
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Deathly Hallows, Ch. 36
  7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 2005 Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview
  9. 9.0 9.1 Deathly Hallows, Ch. 33
  10. F.A.Q. question on J.K. Rowling's Official Site
  11. Deathly Hallows, Ch. 4
  12. 2005 Edinburgh 'cub reporter' press conference